It is likely that in these conditions Luigi Rana will be the centre-forward with support from Emanuel Rivas and Marco D'Alessandro.

“I'd rather that Vucinic had been fit for Roma, as it means Francesco Totti will start and last season he scored a hat-trick against us,” continued Ventura.

There are several Giallorossi youth products in the Bari side, including D'Alessandro and defender Gianluca Galasso.

“D'Alessandro is very young, but already has plenty of experience playing in Serie B. We cannot expect everything from him straight away. Once Marco understands what it means to play in Serie A, then he'll become great.

“I have always been interested in the Roma youth academy. It will be a real pleasure to see Leandro Greco again, as I had him with me in Verona and Pisa, where I also had Alessio Cerci.

“I am now interested in bringing Stefano Okaka to Bari, as he has great potential.”